Ending Eras

Football isn’t a topic I cover here very often. This is because nobody can seem to discuss it on the internet without eventually turning into an arse. Besides, I’d always be right and everyone else would be wrong.

However, football has it seems come to the end of an era all of a sudden. I can’t remember so many retirements at one time, and it may take a while to sink in, but I don’t think many folk recognise the impact of all these eras that are about to end.

The likes of Beckham, Carragher, Scholes and Owen have been ever presents for what seems like forever, and they have all decided to call it a day at the same time. The fact that Fergie has joined in too means the new beginnings of next season are exciting, unknown and a breath of fresh air.

He isn’t going to Carra on

I know it is only football, but you only have to have watched Twitter this afternoon to see the impact it has on people. Condolences to all Spurs fans by the way.

We too are staring down the barrel of an ending era. Both Emily and Rebecca are due to leave their secondary school this summer. Emily has been there since 2006, and Rebecca 2008, and it will be strange to have no connection with the school that I went to all those years ago too.

The seemingly endless parent’s evenings, school trips, projects that are always started too late and all that homework that simply could only be done with a large chunk of parental involvement. It’s all coming to an end.

Maybe.

Rebecca is hoping to study Media Make Up and Hair at college so no doubt I’ll be using my enormous knowledge about hair to help with her course! Emily is preparing to apply to Disney for the year-long Cultural Representative Programme, and hoping not to need a Plan B should she not be lucky enough to be accepted. It’s going to be very competitive but we’ll see how it goes.

Neither her or Louise and I have completely reconciled how difficult it would be to have Emily live overseas on her own for a year!! However, Emily’s impending adulthood also brings home just how quickly things are moving along.

To counter that, I do find it endearing and touching how you only have to sit Emily in front of Les Miserables for a couple of hours to see the little girl in her pouring out of both eyes. It gets to her every time, and the blubbering is guaranteed.

By the way, as I type this, we are watching the DVD for the second time this weekend.

I was very pleased last week as both of the girls secured part-time work in the same bakery. Frankly, they are becoming a very expensive hobby, and with this little bit of cash they may be able to start to support themselves a little. They start next Saturday, and as grown up as they seem it does feel strange knowing that they will be out in the big wide world. There speaks an over protective Dad.

Rebecca appears to be developing some sort of WAG lifestyle, with false tan, hair products galore and more make up than a Kiss tribute act. Once she starts to pay for some of these out of her earnings it will be interesting to see what she does.

On a personal note this next week sees the conclusion of a major project at work, and I know you will be sick of me referencing it, but believe me not as sick as me. Don’t get me wrong I am enjoying what I do, but this has been a long road and I just want to see the smegger done and dusted now.

This weekend has flown by in a whirl of DIY, dog grooming and dodgy European singers. Yes, last night we all endured and enjoyed the Eurovision, and it was the usual mix of madness and pure crap. Still, it is odd yet strangely reassuring to think that as I was posting pithy and annoying crap all over Facebook, somewhere out there in Azerbaijan or Belarus there was another similar balding overweight forty something doing the same thing. What he would have made of Bonnie Tyler I will never know, as frankly I wasn’t sure either.

Hi Craig, I’m just at the end of my Level 3 in Theatrical, Special Effects, Hair and Media Make-up, so if Rebecca ever wants to send any questions/etc my way she’s more than welcome, she can add me on FB 🙂